6-24-15

Me: Aloha Lake Day! 

Monday, June 22

This was our last day to adventure with April & Lorin.

It started with a boat ride across lower & upper Echo Lake.

Once off the boat we hiked 3.5 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail.

That's Upper & Lower Echo Lakes in the background.

April looking down at Tamarack Lake.

Then we got a glimpse of Aloha Lake. It was beautiful & unlike any of the other mountain lakes we've seen in the area.

It had bare granite for beaches & boulder islands throughout the water.

We wasted no time relaxing.

Even Harley thought this place was special.

Though the water was reeeaaally cold (50's?); Lorin & I decided to swim for THAT rock. We made it but then we had to get back. :-/

Success!!!!

Of course yoga posing was gonna happen. :-)

3.5 more miles of hiking & we caught a boat ride back to the main dock. What a wonderful day! The bonus was talking to some Pacific Crest Trail hikers who were at the general store & post office picking up supplies. Several of the folks we chatted with had already been hiking 2 months & had about 2 more months to go to finish the whole PCT. Have you seen the movie "Wild"?!

Tomorrow April & Lorin will be flying back to Phoenix. We are thankful to have had such a special week with them in Tahoe!!

6-23-15

Me: Paddle Boarding Day!

Saturday, June 20th.

Angora Lakes is one of our favorite little mountain lakes. It's a short hike there & the setting is so peaceful - yet there are fun activities like swimming, rock jumping & paddle boarding.

Plus they serve their famous lemonade. Mmmm!

Bob played photographer while the 3 of us put our skills to the test. It was April & Lorin's first time SUP (Stand Up Paddle-boarding). Both did great but let's just say Lorin wins the prize for falling in the lake the most times (around 7)! :-)

Enjoying the granite & green all around.

And then the races began... 

It was close but I edged out April around the buoy before gliding back for 1st place. :-)

Super fun day that ended with a visit to Fallen Leaf Lake (another favorite place).

6-22-15

Me: After our Yosemite adventure we were pretty low key on Friday, June 19th. We had coffee & computer time at The Keys Cafe, toured some local beaches & did some shopping. Lorin bought a pair of Hokas; they are the current rage in running shoes for road & trails. Bob bought some Hokas last week (loves them), Pete has been wearing Hokas for over a year (loves them) & so I ordered a pair too (they arrive next week)! April is now the only one without Hokas…though she did buy some nice water sandals. :-)

 In the evening we drove to Emerald Bay for a view of this special cove.

 A pretty night with calm waters.

At Camp Richardson we had some giant ice cream cones followed by sunset on the dock. I don't have a photo of the acrobatic raccoon that we saw scaling a cabin roof. It was very entertaining!

Back at the cabin Harley waits patiently for a s'more. Sorry Harley…not for doggies.

Saturday, June 20th: I did a local 10k race. It was a small event (2nd female overall).

After the running event Harley begged to go along on our trip to Angora Lakes. We agreed & loaded her up in the car along with towels, sun screen, water shoes & snacks.

Angora Lakes & paddle boarding pics tomorrow. :-)

6-21-15

Me: Yosemite Day 

(June 18th - part 2)

After a good bit of time at the water slide we walked up stream…

This natural hot tub was along the way.

Too bad it wasn't actually hot. :-/ Cold mountain water!

Our guides led us to this jumping pool. Pete's cannonball!

Lorin's jump!

Then it was April & I (we both needed a lot of coaxing again)!

I did it!

And it was fun!

April took the plunge!

We stuck to our motto; "One & Done". 

Backpacks on & we started our hike out of the Tenaya Canyon.

Pete took us on a little detour to see Tenaya Lake.

Wow - such a beautiful mountain lake!

Thank you, Pete & Max for this day's grand adventure! We made it out of Tenaya Canyon (Yosemite's Bermuda Triangle) & have some wonderful memories.

PS: About an hour into our drive home we stopped at Travertine Hot Springs. These pools really are HOT - filled from a bubbling natural hot spring coming out of the ground. Pretty neat!

6-20-15

Me: Bob & Pete on Yosemite Day! (6/28)

Bob's high school buddy (who lives in Mammoth Lakes with his family) led us on an epic adventure in Yosemite Park (basically his backyard & stomping grounds).

It's great to have a local to take you places you otherwise would never find.

Pete & his son were awesome tour guides. We met them at Mono Lake (just outside the National Park) which is a 2 & 1/2 hour drive from the cabin.

The 2.5 mile hike in was amazing!

And the scenery only got better as we became surrounded with mountains of granite.

This area is Tenaya Canyon (AKA; The Bermuda Triangle of Yosemite). There are stories of people not returning or strange accidents happening if the gods are not happy. Hmmm…we went anyway. :-/

The beauty of gorgeous waterfalls, clear soaking pools & streams flowing down the mountain was breathtaking.

Once to the bottom of this stream (also a natural giant water slide) Pete showed us how to ride it down. That's Pete cruising down the mountain!

We observed a couple more runs by Pete before deciding if we should try it. Bob was a definite NO with his broken collar bone and I was hesitant to try for fear of getting a broken bone myself. :-/

After a lot of coaxing I did it. Here I am before I started slip-sliding away in the wrong direction. I was pretty scared & everyone on the sideline seemed worried too. YIKES!

But I landed in the pool - without injury! Woohoo!

Next was April who did a perfect slide down to the pool.

Nice job!

The two of us decided we were "One & Done". It was a thrilling ride & we survived. We're good. :-)

We opted for sunbathing while Pete & Lorin slid down multiple times.

Here's Lorin cruising. Excellent form! 

Yosemite adventurers!

It was a great day for Bob to catch up with his buddy too!

Kicking back.

 Max relaxing.

Asleep & getting darker.

The Bear Family. :-)

(Part 2 of Yosemite tomorrow)